D.C. Mayor Promises Change

Calling herself the "voice of change" in the nation's capital, the newly elected mayor of Washington D.C. vowed last night to clean up the troubled city and pay attention to the city's children.

"The city is poised and ready for change," said Sharon Pratt Dixon, mayor-elect of Washington D.C., to her audience at the Kennedy School of Government last night.

Dixon said that her platform signaled a dramatic shift of political priorities, and that one of her top priorities will be to streamline city government.

"It's time to clean house...to get rid of waste and nonresponsiveness," said Dixon.

While Dixon said she expected the people of Washington to be wary of her changes, she said that voters perceived the sincereity behind her position, which was meant "not to be politically slick, but...to serve," she said.

Dixon said that many in the city were receptive to her ideas as she spoke of the need to "clean house." In fact, she said, during a pre-election speech one listener responded, "don't take a broom, take a shovel."

Dixon also expressed new determination to fight crime and drug use in Washington by reclaiming the city's youth.

"The most important aspect of our nation that we mortgaged away was our children," Dixon said. "We need to pull children off of the streets...but there's nothing for youngsters to do."

As a result, Dixon said, it was important to improve the city's school and more effectively coordinate human services.

Although published polls before the election recorded Dixon's support between 7 and 10 percent, Dixon won the primary election with 35 percent of the vote, and the final election with 86 percent.

"The city was searching for leadership. Leadership is not something you talk about, it's something you do," said Dixon.

Dixon said that her success proved that voters have the power to bring about political change.

"A great euphoria swept the city, and it wasn't about me. It was about the voters...the voters have the last word." said Dixon of the election results. "My challenge now is to take that euphoria and translate it into something tangible for the city."

A single mother of two daughters, Dixon will be the fourth Black woman to serve as mayor of a city with a population more than 100,000, said Jessie Rattley, former mayor of Newport News, Va., who introduced Dixon.

Dixon felt that being a woman affected her campaign in several ways. "It contributed to my inability to capture [campaign] dollars," she said.

But Dixon said that at least a few of the biases, like the belief that "men are decisive, but women are honest." were beneficial.